Swiss Emmental

Swiss Emmental

Emmental or Emmentaler, as it is sometimes known, is made in Switzerland and originally came from the Emme Valley in the Canton of Bern.

It is a hard cheese made form cow’s milk. Know in North America, Australia and New Zealand as Swiss cheese, Emmental is not protected which means it is now widely available; France, Bavaria and Finland are all exporters of Emmentaler cheese.

It is a hard yellow cheese and is another cheese with large holes. Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Emmentaler and these are: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus and Propionibacter shermani. In the later stages of the production P. shermani releases carbon dioxide, which in turn makes the bubbles that become the holes.